Gritty Gophers Eke Out 3-1 Win Over Penn State to Kick Off B1G Play

Minneapolis, MN – In golf, the old aphorism is ‘it’s not how, it’s how many.’

For the Gophers Friday night, it wasn’t in the how, and the how many ended up more than their opponent, which is all that matters in the end.

In a gritty, choppy game which featured 11:54 of total Gopher man-advantage time, Minnesota (6-1-0 Overall (0-1 OT), 1-0-0 B1G) did just enough to put down Penn State (4-2-0 (1-0), 0-1-0) by a 3-1 score, behind two Jimmy Snuggerud powerplay tallies and an empty netter from Jimmy Clark. The win was the Gophers’ first conference win of the season.

Coming into the game, Minnesota had overwhelmed every opponent they’d played thus far on the year in non-conference play. We expected that the level of competition might increase as Big Ten play began, and that’s exactly what happened Friday night. For just the second time all season, the Gophers were outshot in a period when Penn State put 11 shots to Minnesota’s 9 in the opening frame, and the Nittany Lions generally looked every bit as good as the #4-ranked Gophers.

Minnesota had two separate power play chances in the first, and each was turned aside by PSU’s UConn transfer goalie Arsenii Sergeev, who ended the game with 31 saves on 33 Gopher shots and (in this writer’s opinion) was the best player on the ice. Sergeev was critical in PSU’s penalty kills in the first and second period, holding his team in the game and giving them a chance to win.

Sergeev stopped all 9 Gopher shots in the first. All it took was one good break or good shot to give someone a lead, and Penn State took it. After his penalty expired at 19:11 of the period, Reese Laubach came out of the box and found a partial breakaway opportunity. Laubach beat Luke Mittelstadt before charging up the right wing and firing the puck through the five-hole of Nathan Airey to give Penn State the lead heading into the first intermission.

The second period was a bizarre one, as Minnesota had four separate power plays (including a five minute major power play) throughout the period, en route to a massive 17-shot outburst in the middle frame. Jimmy Snuggerud was able to tie the game just 96 seconds into the period when he pounced on a puck and turned around a wrister past Sergeev and into the net to make it 1-1.

Matt DeMarsico took PSU’s major early at 3:55 of the second with a boarding hit on Connor Kurth. The Gophers poured shots and chances on Sergeev, who managed to keep everything out to maintain the tie game. After two more unsuccessful power play chances, it was beginning to look like Sergeev might be propelling PSU to an Omaha-like upset win of the Gophers. However, Minnesota was able to get on the board again late on the power play when Snuggerud tipped in a Sam Rinzel shot from the point to score his second of the night. The goal gave the Gophers their first lead of the game at 18:22 of the second.

The third period saw Minnesota have to defend an early Penn State powerplay when Luke Mittelstadt went off for hooking. The Gophers killed that opportunity and salted away the clock for the remainder of the game, making smart decisions and not taking any undue risk. Nathan Airey turned aside all six Nittany Lion shots in the third period (credit to the Gopher defensive structure for only allowing 6 shots). Jimmy Clark added an empty net goal with 50 seconds left in the game to send the home fans home happy with a 3-1 Big Ten Opener victory.

Nathan Airey improved to 4-0-0 on the season, stopping 21 of 22 Penn State shots to earn the win between the pipes. Sergeev was the hard-luck loser, saving 31 of 33 shots on the evening.

Jimmy Snuggerud’s two goals were his second and third of the season. The trio of Jimmy Clark, Connor Kurth, and Matthew Wood each recorded a point tonight, now making 35 total points in seven games for Minnesota’s top line.

An area of concern for the Gophers earlier in the year was faceoffs, and that seems to have improved Friday. Minnesota and Penn State tied the draws at 27 each.

The same two teams duke it out again Saturday night at 7PM. Minnesota will look to cap off its first sweep of the season, with former Penn State goalie Liam Souliere likely to be between the pipes for the Gophers. The game can be seen on Fox 9+, streamed on B1G+, and heard on AM1130 / FM103.5.